The End of This Blog ...

... starts the beginning of a new one.

I decided I needed a change. I won't be adding more posts to this blog, but you can keep up with me here from now on: The Uneducated Housewife.

I hope to see you there!

Quinoa Lentil Balls

After adding some quinoa and lentils to my favorite meatball recipe, I decided to try this - perfect for a meat-less alternative to meatballs!

Quinoa Lentil Balls

2 c bread crumbs
1 c cooked quinoa
1 c cooked lentils
1 egg
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 10.5oz can condensed cream of celery soup
1 c grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Form into balls about 3 inches in diameter onto a greased baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven, until well-browned. Yields about 15. (These will probably not hold their shape well enough to be added to a spaghetti sauce.)

Do Your Best, Leave the Rest to God

I have been thinking a lot about parenting lately. I love being a mom. I love it with ever fiber of my being. I truly know in the depths of my soul that God meant for me to become a mother. And I am so grateful for it!

Am I a perfect mom? Goodness, no. Not even close! But I strive to become a more "perfect" mom each day. From the first day I became a mother to today, my parenting "style" has definitely changed, and each time I make a "change," I like the change that was made.

I read through parents' blogs and hear from friends about how they do things, and I'm always grateful for their fresh, new perspective. Sometimes I incorporate their "style" into my own, and so the evolution of my parenting takes place. Even if I don't like the way they choose to do things and don't incorporate it into my own parenting style, I'm still glad for that knowledge, because I think it helps me become a more rounded person in general. Knowledge is power, as they say. 

But recently I noticed I was getting taken up in all these other perspectives, particularly the ones that I liked. "Oh no, I'm doing it all wrong!" I started to tell myself, and it really got me down. Sure, I liked the changes I had been making as I grew in motherhood, but what about the time before the change? My poor firstborn, he'll be ruined because I didn't do what I was "supposed" to do from day one!

Then I think God placed something on my heart. "Do your best, leave the rest to Me." We are broken human beings as a result of original sin. There are going to be things from which I can't protect my children. I am going to make mistakes as a parent. Sure, that really stinks. But you know what? That's why Our Lord came down to save us. We can't save ourselves. He can. If I waste all my precious time and energy on trying to be perfect, I'll lose sight of God's purpose for my life. I'll never be perfect this side of Heaven. God will make up for what I lack, and that includes what I lack as a parent. That doesn't give me a right to be lazy; of course not! It's my job to try each day to become a better person, the best that I can be. But that doesn't mean I'm ever going to be perfect, and that's ok.

There's a lot to be said for "mothering instincts." I find I'm much more at peace when I follow mine, and I really think these instincts are God-given. Is there only one "right" way to parent? Though I'm inclined to think there are "better" ways to parent, I wouldn't say there's only one "right" way, because each couple, each child, each personality, each family dynamic is different.  What works for us might not work for someone else. I think God designed it that way. What a bleak, boring world if we were all the same!

It's ok that my parenting style has changed, and little (or big!) things may change here and there as I gain knowledge and experience. It's not going to ruin my children, because they're gaining life experiences, too. They learn a thousand little life lessons, most of which probably don't even have a name, in the course of a day. And I'm so grateful for the gift of Faith, because I know that God can repair any wrongs that I've done. The most important thing is that I try my best, have my children's good in mind, and love them with everything that I am. "Love covers a multitude of sins." - 1 Peter 4:8. I think, as a parent, it's better to err on the side of love. I'll do the best that I know how, and then leave the rest to God. 

Oh, Yeah... I Had a Baby!

It's been a while since I've posted, but I wanted to be sure to update my blog with the wonderful news: OUR BABY GIRL IS HERE! 

 

Sweet baby Clare was born on June 4th, 2012, at 8:14am: 8lb, 6oz, and 20 1/4 inches long. It was an amazing birth experience, and I'd be more than happy to share my story with anyone who is interested. Thanks be to God, with the help of my awesome doula, my amazing husband, and my dear mother, I was able to have the natural delivery--without any kind of painkillers--I had been looking forward to so much! Special thanks also to my in-laws, who did such a great job taking care of Travis while we were at the hospital. Even though it was nothing like I had imagined it would be (what labor ever is?!), I am still beaming from how wonderfully everything went!

Our family is doing very well with our new addition. Travis loves his baby sister and has been such a nice little helper...grabbing her binky if she's fussing and tossing her dirty diapers in the trash can. Clare is such a sweet, mellow baby! She hardly ever cries, except sometimes when she's hungry or when she's getting changed. She's also an incredibly good sleeper! She's been giving me no less than a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep overnight. We are SO thankful to have been blessed with our newest bundle of joy...God is so good!!!

An External Cephalic Version (ECV) Success Story!

I haven't posted in quite a while, mostly because, well, carving out time for blogging has been at the bottom of my priority list! With a toddler to care for, a baby on the way, and the many tasks of a homemaker, I have to be very particular about how I spend any "free time," and sorry, folks, but blogging didn't make the cut!

However, I wanted to write a post about this, because I myself had spent a lot of time scouring the internet for information, stories, experiences, anything regarding the procedure called the External Cephalic Version, often shortened to "External Version," "Version," or "ECV." I thought perhaps writing my experience would encourage any other moms faced with this procedure!

At 28 weeks and 3 days, I had an ultrasound of our sweet baby girl which showed her doing extremely well, and head down! I was very happy to hear that, because I was looking forward to a drug-free natural delivery and I knew the only thing that could possibly derail those hopes was a breech presentation.

Then at my routine appointment two weeks later, I asked the OB to feel for her position (just to make sure she was still head down) ... and to my surprise, the doctor said it felt like she was breech, with her little head under my right ribs. That didn't worry me too much, because I knew that babies often change positions and it really doesn't become a concern at all until 34 weeks. I was surprised, though, because though our baby girl has been very active, I didn't notice any "extreme" movements that would have clued me in to the fact that she had flipped to breech.

After another routine growth ultrasound at 33 weeks, a few more routine appointments, and another ultrasound to confirm her position earlier this week, we realized that baby girl was still in the frank breech position. At this point in the pregnancy, every day she didn't flip decreased her chances of turning on her own. Since the baby grows bigger, there becomes less and less room for her to turn. There is still a chance she could turn, and there are TONS of stories of babies who have turned late in the game (even during labor!) but for all intents and purposes, at this point in the pregnancy, she probably wouldn't turn on her own. So it looked like my baby girl fell into the approximately 4% of babies that end up in the breech position at term! That means two options: a scheduled c-section, or an ECV.

(Although babies can be safely birthed naturally in the breech position, not many OBs or midwives are trained to do so, and my practice isn't. Even if they were, however, I would not be a good candidate for that for a few medical reasons, so while some women may have three options--ECV, c-section, or breech birth--my situation was one in which I really only had two.) 

I had learned about ECVs long before I knew our baby girl was breech; when you look up information about breech presentation, you're bound to find information on ECVs as well. There are lots of "at-home" things you can do to encourage a baby to turn head down: inversions, using a cold pack/music/flashlights on the top of your belly, swimming, finding a chiropractor trained in the Webster technique, etc. etc. (For those interested in these techniques, the best resource out there on the subject is http://www.spinningbabies.com). I had tried everything! From what I had read, it seemed as though the "last resort" is the ECV, and not all OBs will offer it since not all of them are trained in how to do it. I was very grateful when I learned that two of the OBs at my practice do!

So what is the External Cephalic Version? Basically, it's a procedure where the doctor tries to manually flip the baby to the head down position by manipulating the mom's belly from the outside. It's done in a hospital setting, because although it is generally considered a safe procedure, there can be risks to the baby, like fetal distress, placental abruption, cord entanglement, etc. The baby is monitored very closely via ultrasound before, during, and after the procedure to make sure none of those things occur or have occurred. If they do, then the mom can be rushed in for an emergency c-section. It is usually done around 36-37 weeks: before then, though the baby is smaller and would be easier to flip, the odds of them going back to the breech position are higher, and if a c-section became necessary, the baby would be more premature than the doctors would want. Later than that, the baby is bigger and harder to turn. Although 36-37 weeks wouldn't be the ideal time for the baby to be born (39+ weeks is generally the "gold standard" when it comes to that!) ... it's the best "window" that takes into account the health of the baby and the possibility of a successful flip.

After my ultrasound on Monday, it was decided that we'd schedule the ECV for Wednesday; I'd be 36 weeks, 5 days pregnant. 

Because of the possibility (however slight) that a c-section could be needed, I was not allowed any food or drink for 6-8 hours before the procedure was scheduled. After registering at the hospital, I was brought to Labor & Delivery. Once there, they set me up on a monitor in a hospital bed where they monitored the baby's heart rate and any possible contractions I was having for about an hour. They also inserted a hep-lock in my left hand in case they needed to administer IV fluids in the event of an emergency. The procedure would begin as soon as the operating room was open; they want to be sure it's open in case there are any complications and I'd need to be rushed in for a c-section.

Once the initial period of monitoring was over (and it was found, as they had expected, that everything looked normal on the monitors) the doctor came in to check on her position with an ultrasound machine. Sure enough, there she was - her little head right under my ribs! They gave me an injection of terbutaline in my arm in order to relax the uterus to prevent contractions. A side effect of this drug is that it can make you feel a little jittery; honestly, I didn't notice that too much because I was a bit jittery anyway from being so hungry! They waited five minutes for the drug to take effect, then the doctor came back in with two nurses to start the ECV.

They arranged the hospital bed so that I was laying almost completely flat. After covering my belly liberally with the aquasonic ultrasound gel, and using the ultrasound machine to get a good idea of her exact position, the doctor used his hands to try and move her head down from the outside. I felt a lot of pressure, and it was definitely uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say that it was painful in the slightest! After literally less than a minute, the doctor said, "Ok!", and checked with the ultrasound machine to show that she was now head down! The nurses were shocked at how quickly it happened; they'd never seen one work so quickly before. He did a few other checks to make sure that her head (and not her umbilical cord, for example) was the lowest part visible on the ultrasound machine, and then I was hooked up to the monitors again for another hour to make sure she was still doing fine, which she was! After that, I was wrapped up in a "binder" they often use for c-section patients to help discourage her from turning back to breech (approximately 2-5% of babies will turn back to breech after a successful ECV), which I'm supposed to wear 24/7 until labor begins. After that, I was discharged and sent home!

I am so happy I decided to go through with the ECV. For anyone who is faced with the possibility of this procedure, I wanted to be sure to put another "success story" out there for them to read. I had a few things in my favor: she's not my first baby, my amniotic fluid levels were good, she was anterior, and not engaged in the pelvis yet. These things helped increase my chances of a successful ECV. But going from this experience, it is definitely something I would recommend a mother seriously consider if she's offered one. For me, it was quick, painless, and ended up with a healthy, head-down baby! Thanks be to God!!!

(Edited to add: I gave birth to our precious baby girl on June 4, 2012 ... a successful and AWESOME natural delivery!)

"Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer." - St. Pio of Pietrelcina, one of my favorite Saints.

30 weeks!

30 weeks today! I'm very excited and grateful to God. Each day gets closer to the day our baby girl is born, and I can't wait! For me, there's just something about hitting 30 weeks that makes everything seem more "real," in a sense. I love it!

At our last ultrasound, we got a little glimpse of our beautiful baby girl. She had her hands in front of her face the whole time, so they didn't get a very clear picture, but ....

Here she is! I love those 3D ultrasounds! What a gift! I remember our 3D ultrasound pictures with Travis; I have one of them framed. Even now, when he's sleeping, it still looks exactly like him. Amazing!

Other than that, nothing has really been new here. We've been enjoying the weather immensely and Travis loves being able to go outside and play. He's getting so big! Walking down stairs (usually with some help from me, but recently he's accomplished a few stairs at a time without help!), "helping" in the kitchen and with laundry, opening doors...I just can't believe it. It's really amazing, watching my little baby boy growing up. I love every second!